Virginia

I’m spending time in and around Washington D.C. for the next week, and I woke up this morning with a desire for local coffee. Actually, I wake up every morning with a desire for local coffee, today however that desire was feasible to obtain.

Grabbing the metro card that my relative graciously lent to me, I boarded the bus, then the train and headed into Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Right on the border of Washington D.C., Old Town Alexandria is the antithesis to nearly everything that makes our nation’s capital city famous. The hustle and bustle of the city is replaced with a quite calmness reminisce of small town America. The only similarity Old Town Alexandria shares with D.C. that I can see is the number of historical sites worth seeing. In fact, Old Town boasts being the “3rd oldest historic district in the nation.” Check out more here.

While I was sitting on the bus, I sent out a quick tweet from my personal account that I was headed into Old Town. One of my followers replied that he has several friends that live in the area. I took the opportunity to ask if he knew of any great local coffee places. He asked a friend and got back to me, saying that Misha’s is a popular local joint. That, ladies and gentleman, is the power of social media.

I found Misha’s on my iPhone and set a course for it as soon as I got off the train. After only a couple blocks of walking I had arrived.

Walking in, I was greeted by three things immediately: the delicious smell of coffee, the sounds of jazz music, and the color red. The entire interior of Misha’s is painted in a not-quite-dark red, close to an earthy tone. It fits the character of the shop great, and a chill mood was immediately set for me. I took a quick look around as I entered and saw several people reading the paper or a book, talking , and sipping brews. The barista greeted me with a pleasant smile, and I asked for a second to look at the menu. Eyes drifting upward, I quickly noticed that the menu is made entirely of refridgerator magnets! Check the pic to see what I mean. Cute.

After giving the menu a once over, I decided to go for a mocha. After a couple of days with nothing but drip coffee to satisfy my palette, I decided to go big. The barista pulled my shots with ease, and in no time a steaming cup of chocolate and espresso goodness was standing before me. My first sip was prefaced by a good amount of milk foam. Though I’m generally partial to whip cream on mochas, this was a great touch.

The mocha was very good. My only complaint is that there was a layer of chocolate syrup on the bottom of my cup. Although sometimes inevitable in a mocha, mine wasn’t as chocolaty as I would have liked. Hindsight being 20/20, I should have stirred my beverage before grabbing a seat.

Misha’s tagline is “The best coffee you’ll ever have.” Though I can’t say I completely agree with this claim, their coffee is darn good. People have left plenty of tips on foursquare, and it’s clear that the community loves hanging here.

Next time you’re in the Washington D.C. area, I definitely suggest stopping by Misha’s. Not only will you enjoy the atmosphere of Old Town Alexandria, you’ll love the coffee and the community.